Aaron’s rod

While the Israelites were in the wilderness some of them challenged the authority of Moses and Aaron to lead them.  God ended the dissent with a sign that showed whom he had chosen.

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers’ house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs.

Write each man’s name on his staff, and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers’ house.

Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout.

Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.”

Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. And Moses deposited the staffs before the LORD in the tent of the testimony.
Numbers 17:1-7

The old prophet

After Solomon died his kingdom was split in two.  Ten tribes seceded and made Jeroboam their king; two accepted Solomon’s son Rehoboam as their king.  God’s temple was part of Rehoboam’s kingdom and Jeroboam was afraid that if his subjects continued to go there to worship they might not remain loyal to him.

And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
1 Kings 12:26-29

The genealogies of Jesus

If you read the Bible regularly you know that much of it consists of genealogies.  Many of us find them uninteresting; we skim through them and wonder why they are in the Bible at all.  But if we believe the Bible was inspired by God we must also believe that the genealogies are important or God wouldn’t have included them in the Bible in the first place.

We live in a culture which emphasizes individual rights and freedoms.  Sometimes we focus so much on individuality that we forget we are also connected to others.  The genealogies remind us of one of the most important connections, that of family.